American fresh home sales slump to 8-month minimum in June

16:13 25.07.2018

In June, in the USA, sales of fresh single-family homes declined to an 8-month dip and data for the previous month was updated steeply down, which are the latest signs that the US housing market was decelerating.

It has been reported that in June fresh home sales went down by 5.3% to a seasonally updated annual rate of about 631,000 units, which is the lowest reading since October 2017. Additionally, May's sales pace was modified downwards to nearly 666,000 units in contrast with the previously uncovered 689,000 units.

Financial experts interviewed by Reuters had foreseen new home sales, amounting to nearly 10%of housing market sales, diving 2.8% to a pace of 670,000 units in June.

New home sales managed to soar by 2.4% from 2017. For the recent months housing market data has declined, with homebuilding sagging to a nine-month minimum in June as well as home resales tumbling for a third month in a row. Additionally, as for building permits, they sank to a nine-month minimum in June.

The sector has been impacted by soaring building material costs as well as shortages of labor and land that have suppressed the supply of houses available for sale and also kept home prices higher.

In spite of the fact, the moderation in housing is mostly powered by supply constraints, but there are worries that ongoing weakness will result in the broader economy. In 2018, the housing market has managed to underperform the American economy.

In the South, in June, new home sales, being the cornerstone of transactions, inched down by 7.7%. In the West, sales headed south by 5.2%, while in the Midwest they sank by 13.4%. In the Northeast, sales managed to rally by 36.8%.

In June, the median new house price sank by 4.2% hitting $302,100 from 2017.